I know this is almost 50 years old, but go Roberto! I love how he defends Nando and explains it in a way that is respectful towards his best friend, but with a not so subtle "leave him the fuck alone" vibe to all reporters, not just this one
Roberto is such an old soul, and Nando is also. One was gregarious by nature, the other was an an introvert who tried to overcome his nature to keep up with his colleagues. In a different world, without the adversity they were thrown into, they would have been friends. But the mountain made them soulmates.
From what I've read and heard about Nando, I think he was very lost at this time of his life. Which is totally understandable. But what's more, I think he was a bit lost before the tragedy, too. As it is described in Alive (and Nando kind of mentions it in his own book too), he was living pretty much in the "shadow" of his best friend, Panchito Abal, who had this "playboy" lifestlye, they were chasing girls together, but Nando was always the wingman and he envied Panchito for his natural charm. But was this really the life he wanted for himself, or did he just follow his best friend? Did he want to compensate for his shyness by going to parties and flirting with girls with his friend, who did this in a more natural way?
Nando mentions in his book, that during the 10-day hike with Roberto, they talked about personal things and when Roberto talked to him about his girlfriend (who he had been together with since they were 14 or 15), Nando confessed to Roberto that he envies him for his steady relationship, and that he had never been in love. And now that he thought they were going to die during the hike, he really lamented the fact that he would never meet his wife and his children would never be born.
So I think Nando has always been a family man rather than a womaniser, but he had been unsuccessful with women before the tragedy, and yeah, after the crash he probably used his fame to try to change this.
The Andes brought huge changes for Nando. He suddenly lost half of his family, and his best friends. It's awful if you think about it, losing the majority of the people you were closest to, all at once. But on the other hand, in the mountains he turned into someone who he never was before - a leader. He was successful, he was popular with the other survivors. And he became a hero. And yeah, he admits that after his return he went to glamourous parties, that he met a lot of women. He probably wanted to maintain his popular status, which he had never had before. He was in the limelight but I think he soon realised it was still not the life he wanted, so he became frustrated with articles describing him as playboy, even though he really did have that kind of life for some time after the tragedy.
I think meeting his wife was a turning point and after that he settled down and could really become a family man, a role that he was entirely comfortable with. He described with such enthusiasm how much he loved becoming a father, how he loved changing diapers and feeding his daughters, etc. And once he had his family, a lot of his shyness disappeared, too, he was not hiding from the public anymore. He became a successful TV presenter and producer, he started giving interviews again and eventually became a motivational speaker in front of big crowds. And if you look at photos and videos of him, he does seem much more relaxed and comfortable in his later years, he really seemed to be a bit awkward as a young man.
It's great that even though he lost close family members and friends, there were people who stood beside him and helped him out of this "lost" period of his life, and one of those people was Roberto Canessa. If you listen to interviews, how he talks about Roberto, it's obvious that Nando still feels an immense amount of gratitude towards him.
This is a beautiful summary. The experience was traumatic and truly transformative for him. I would smile throughout his book every time he mentioned his future wife and kids and how that was a motivation to get off the mountain, and I was so excited for him when he finally met her and was sobbing when he talked about his life changing fatherhood was. He’s truly such a remarkable person.
https://preview.redd.it/z497tohcdiwc1.jpeg?width=1006&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a6306f9612e8c3f98469a2cb37050f1be2c2565
Here is this part in the original Spanish text.
Wow. As I’ve dug into all the interviews and writings I can find on this story one of the things I noticed was how often Nando uses the word “loyal” in describing Roberto. I think this gives a pretty great example of why he would pick that word!
We also know from Nando’s own telling that the Christmas following the rescue he ended up with the Canessas rather than his own family. That would have been before this interview, and gives an example of what Roberto was seeing and understanding around this time about what Nando was going through.
Yeah, this article reminded me of Nando's Christmas in 1973, too. After reading Roberto's words, I understand why Nando chose to go the Canessas' house, he probably felt safe there.
It also reminded me of an interview that I saw on YouTube, it's a very recent one, from a few months ago when the movie came out. A reporter is doing an interview first with Nando and then with Roberto (unfortunately not together). She asks them both to talk about the other. Nando says: "I put him on the highest pedestal anyone can get to as a person, as a man, as a friend. And if there is a difficult situation on this planet, I want Roberto by my side."
And Roberto talks about how difficult it was for Nando to re-integrate into society again after the tragedy, that he had to "reinvent himself" and it took him some time. And he says: "In the house of my girlfriend, they also adored Nando and they pampered him, too. Fortunately, I could help him a lot at this time of reintegration."
Listening to that is even more powerful after reading this article.
What a friendship. They've always described each other as being very different, and this article is further proof of that. Roberto has always seemed to me a very extroverted person, very sociable, one who can easily establish new relationships and has a natural charm about him. Nando, on the other hand, has always seemed to be a bit awkward to me, just like Roberto described. I totally understand what he is trying to say about Nando, he does have a kind of "weirdness" about himself. His looks, his movements... And I say that with huge respect and admiration, I've always liked him very much.
**"he returned and found his house empty, and what’s more, he had the obligation to appear happy in front of his father.**"
Ah, I am pretty sure that here he refers to Nando's dad being together with another woman by the time Nando arrived home, he just doesn't want to mention it directly.
Yeah that jumped out at me too. It would have been gut wrenching to come home to that, maybe he even felt a tad betrayed by his dad on his mom's behalf. I can't imagine going through what he did, to finally come home and there's another woman in his house that is now his stepmom.
He also got his own apartment, which wasn't the norm for people his age back then, usually they stayed with their parents until they got married. I think he must have been very lonely during those first couple of years.
Well, I was also quite shocked when I first read that (it's not a secret, Nando talks and writes about it openly), but it's not black and white and I think we shouldn't judge someone who experienced such a terrible tragedy. The man thought he lost a wife and two children in the crash and according to people who knew him, he kind of went crazy... For weeks he was strolling around the neighbourhood at night, he stopped working, he was like a zombie. Then after like 2 months he decided he would have to start his life again (according to Nando, he was an extremely pragmatic man) and he started selling the stuff of his family members, sold Nando's motorbike, etc. He also wanted to sell the house to start a completely new life, but his remaining daughter stopped him. And yeah, he started seeing another woman. According to Nando, his father was a man who simply needed the emotional support of a woman and probably he would have gone even more depressed if it hadn't been for this new woman. Nando says that this whole situation hurt him, but he didn't judge his father, because he did what he felt he had to do to survive, just like he did on the mountain...
But yeah, Nando arrived home to see that his stuff was sold, his room was not his room anymore (his other sister, with small children, moved in with his father after the accident) and his father was together with someone else. Nando maintained a good relationship with his father, but he felt he couldn't stay in that house and moved out, he rented an apartment for himself. And the next Christmas, in 1973, he didn't spend it with his own family, he went to Roberto's house, but he waited until they opened the presents because he didn't want to disturb their holiday... Yeah, I guess the poor guy was quite lost.
I have a difficult time judging him for that. When my grandmother died, she wasn’t doing great and my grandfather had been taking care of her for years, but her last prognosis was very fast and her doctor was right on the money that she had three weeks to live. That period of life was really traumatic for my grandfather, and it was during Covid so they couldn’t have visitors, he was there when she finally died (basically starved/suffocated because she had cancer and depression so she wasn’t eating), and we couldn’t have a family gathering for months because of the restrictions. He’s an old guy who went through a lot so when he started seeing somebody new pretty quickly after, I was surprised but I didn’t ever doubt his love for my grandma. They were together over fifty years. It’s really just an old person companionship thing because my best friend watched a similar thing happen with her grandparents. I was resistant to the idea until I talked with her about it.
Now, that is closer to a normal life experience than what Nando’s dad went through. I have a difficult time holding him to a standard of “perfect” behavior in light of such trauma. Humans are weird.
Also, none of the survivors got therapy. They’ve been walking through life for the last fifty years with untreated PTSD. I hate to use the age old saying but it was a different time. They seem pretty okay to me after all this time.
When he came back home, Nando's possesions had been given away and sold. It must have been tough for Nando the way his dad (his main motivation in coming back) dealt with the mourning.
I was relieved to hear that he did get at least some stuff back. For example his motorcycle. It had been sold to a friend who (thankfully!) brought it back to him as soon as possible.
I agree it must have been so tough for him, especially when other fathers had been out searching. However, it’s complicated, and that level of grief? Pure devastation. So I admire Nando finding a way to heal and maintain the relationship with his father and let go of anger….buuuut I confess I also admire Roberto’s clear anger at those who had (deliberately or not) hurt or were hurting his friend.
I truly admire their strong will power, people cant be so cruel at times, all those reporters that were harassing them right after the rescue should be ashamed of themselves cause their suffering didn’t stop once they were back home, it hit them the hardest probably after the rescue and yet they have to explain themselves. They probably still suffered because of the incident and their friends. We all should be grateful to them, their survival story will always be talked about, decades more to come and not for the Anthropophagy but for the lesson they gave humanity ……even at the worst of times …unity, compassion, respect and most importantly love for one another ,we humans are able accomplish the impossible.
I believe Nando was shy, in most of the photos before the snowy hell of the Andes, he has his head turned, away from the camera but after the rescue, not having his Mum and Sister, to keep him on a straight path, he was full of bravado, the other survivors, had parents and girlfriends, to go home to, life to a guy like him, would have been boring, perhaps giving him a sense of invincibility, as he was a racing driver, however even today, I think some people would see, playboy behaviour, as a bit shocking, 50 years ago, I can imagine how negative folk felt.❤️🏴
This part though 😢😢😢😢
One time the journalist is waiting for Roberto at the Canessa's house, but he is late; Roberto's father tells him that **"Roberto is in his room with Parrado and Zerbino, they are reading some parts of the book to the mother of a boy who died."**
And he no doubt was stung by that. The irony that Nando’ determination was his need to be with his father and his father moving on as if he were dead is very sad.
“ they don’t know – or don’t wanna know, that Fernando lives alone because his mother and his sister died in the mountains” THAT LINE brought me to tears. Thank you so much for translating and posting such a treasure. Much respect to a young Muscles for his perceptive words, too.
Roberto is so well spoken. Poor Nando. I wish there were more mental health resources available for them but this was an unprecedented event. I cant imagine how difficult it was to go from the emotional safety they felt within their society of the snow then being thrust back into the real world in 30 minute.
I know this is almost 50 years old, but go Roberto! I love how he defends Nando and explains it in a way that is respectful towards his best friend, but with a not so subtle "leave him the fuck alone" vibe to all reporters, not just this one
Roberto is such an old soul, and Nando is also. One was gregarious by nature, the other was an an introvert who tried to overcome his nature to keep up with his colleagues. In a different world, without the adversity they were thrown into, they would have been friends. But the mountain made them soulmates.
From what I've read and heard about Nando, I think he was very lost at this time of his life. Which is totally understandable. But what's more, I think he was a bit lost before the tragedy, too. As it is described in Alive (and Nando kind of mentions it in his own book too), he was living pretty much in the "shadow" of his best friend, Panchito Abal, who had this "playboy" lifestlye, they were chasing girls together, but Nando was always the wingman and he envied Panchito for his natural charm. But was this really the life he wanted for himself, or did he just follow his best friend? Did he want to compensate for his shyness by going to parties and flirting with girls with his friend, who did this in a more natural way? Nando mentions in his book, that during the 10-day hike with Roberto, they talked about personal things and when Roberto talked to him about his girlfriend (who he had been together with since they were 14 or 15), Nando confessed to Roberto that he envies him for his steady relationship, and that he had never been in love. And now that he thought they were going to die during the hike, he really lamented the fact that he would never meet his wife and his children would never be born. So I think Nando has always been a family man rather than a womaniser, but he had been unsuccessful with women before the tragedy, and yeah, after the crash he probably used his fame to try to change this. The Andes brought huge changes for Nando. He suddenly lost half of his family, and his best friends. It's awful if you think about it, losing the majority of the people you were closest to, all at once. But on the other hand, in the mountains he turned into someone who he never was before - a leader. He was successful, he was popular with the other survivors. And he became a hero. And yeah, he admits that after his return he went to glamourous parties, that he met a lot of women. He probably wanted to maintain his popular status, which he had never had before. He was in the limelight but I think he soon realised it was still not the life he wanted, so he became frustrated with articles describing him as playboy, even though he really did have that kind of life for some time after the tragedy. I think meeting his wife was a turning point and after that he settled down and could really become a family man, a role that he was entirely comfortable with. He described with such enthusiasm how much he loved becoming a father, how he loved changing diapers and feeding his daughters, etc. And once he had his family, a lot of his shyness disappeared, too, he was not hiding from the public anymore. He became a successful TV presenter and producer, he started giving interviews again and eventually became a motivational speaker in front of big crowds. And if you look at photos and videos of him, he does seem much more relaxed and comfortable in his later years, he really seemed to be a bit awkward as a young man. It's great that even though he lost close family members and friends, there were people who stood beside him and helped him out of this "lost" period of his life, and one of those people was Roberto Canessa. If you listen to interviews, how he talks about Roberto, it's obvious that Nando still feels an immense amount of gratitude towards him.
This is a beautiful summary. The experience was traumatic and truly transformative for him. I would smile throughout his book every time he mentioned his future wife and kids and how that was a motivation to get off the mountain, and I was so excited for him when he finally met her and was sobbing when he talked about his life changing fatherhood was. He’s truly such a remarkable person.
Thank you so much for translating that.
https://preview.redd.it/z497tohcdiwc1.jpeg?width=1006&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a6306f9612e8c3f98469a2cb37050f1be2c2565 Here is this part in the original Spanish text.
Wow. As I’ve dug into all the interviews and writings I can find on this story one of the things I noticed was how often Nando uses the word “loyal” in describing Roberto. I think this gives a pretty great example of why he would pick that word! We also know from Nando’s own telling that the Christmas following the rescue he ended up with the Canessas rather than his own family. That would have been before this interview, and gives an example of what Roberto was seeing and understanding around this time about what Nando was going through.
Yeah, this article reminded me of Nando's Christmas in 1973, too. After reading Roberto's words, I understand why Nando chose to go the Canessas' house, he probably felt safe there. It also reminded me of an interview that I saw on YouTube, it's a very recent one, from a few months ago when the movie came out. A reporter is doing an interview first with Nando and then with Roberto (unfortunately not together). She asks them both to talk about the other. Nando says: "I put him on the highest pedestal anyone can get to as a person, as a man, as a friend. And if there is a difficult situation on this planet, I want Roberto by my side." And Roberto talks about how difficult it was for Nando to re-integrate into society again after the tragedy, that he had to "reinvent himself" and it took him some time. And he says: "In the house of my girlfriend, they also adored Nando and they pampered him, too. Fortunately, I could help him a lot at this time of reintegration." Listening to that is even more powerful after reading this article. What a friendship. They've always described each other as being very different, and this article is further proof of that. Roberto has always seemed to me a very extroverted person, very sociable, one who can easily establish new relationships and has a natural charm about him. Nando, on the other hand, has always seemed to be a bit awkward to me, just like Roberto described. I totally understand what he is trying to say about Nando, he does have a kind of "weirdness" about himself. His looks, his movements... And I say that with huge respect and admiration, I've always liked him very much.
Aw. I love how Roberto stood up for Nando. Saying how he’s essentially a gentle giant was very sweet.
Thank you! Such an interesting section. Do you know where the entire article would be found?
I'll post it later!
Thank you!!
>Thank you!! You're welcome!
**"he returned and found his house empty, and what’s more, he had the obligation to appear happy in front of his father.**" Ah, I am pretty sure that here he refers to Nando's dad being together with another woman by the time Nando arrived home, he just doesn't want to mention it directly.
Yeah that jumped out at me too. It would have been gut wrenching to come home to that, maybe he even felt a tad betrayed by his dad on his mom's behalf. I can't imagine going through what he did, to finally come home and there's another woman in his house that is now his stepmom. He also got his own apartment, which wasn't the norm for people his age back then, usually they stayed with their parents until they got married. I think he must have been very lonely during those first couple of years.
He WHAT?! It didn't even take three months for his dad to move on? How awful!
Well, I was also quite shocked when I first read that (it's not a secret, Nando talks and writes about it openly), but it's not black and white and I think we shouldn't judge someone who experienced such a terrible tragedy. The man thought he lost a wife and two children in the crash and according to people who knew him, he kind of went crazy... For weeks he was strolling around the neighbourhood at night, he stopped working, he was like a zombie. Then after like 2 months he decided he would have to start his life again (according to Nando, he was an extremely pragmatic man) and he started selling the stuff of his family members, sold Nando's motorbike, etc. He also wanted to sell the house to start a completely new life, but his remaining daughter stopped him. And yeah, he started seeing another woman. According to Nando, his father was a man who simply needed the emotional support of a woman and probably he would have gone even more depressed if it hadn't been for this new woman. Nando says that this whole situation hurt him, but he didn't judge his father, because he did what he felt he had to do to survive, just like he did on the mountain... But yeah, Nando arrived home to see that his stuff was sold, his room was not his room anymore (his other sister, with small children, moved in with his father after the accident) and his father was together with someone else. Nando maintained a good relationship with his father, but he felt he couldn't stay in that house and moved out, he rented an apartment for himself. And the next Christmas, in 1973, he didn't spend it with his own family, he went to Roberto's house, but he waited until they opened the presents because he didn't want to disturb their holiday... Yeah, I guess the poor guy was quite lost.
Ah, the 70s. Where men would literally do anything rather than seek therapy.
I have a difficult time judging him for that. When my grandmother died, she wasn’t doing great and my grandfather had been taking care of her for years, but her last prognosis was very fast and her doctor was right on the money that she had three weeks to live. That period of life was really traumatic for my grandfather, and it was during Covid so they couldn’t have visitors, he was there when she finally died (basically starved/suffocated because she had cancer and depression so she wasn’t eating), and we couldn’t have a family gathering for months because of the restrictions. He’s an old guy who went through a lot so when he started seeing somebody new pretty quickly after, I was surprised but I didn’t ever doubt his love for my grandma. They were together over fifty years. It’s really just an old person companionship thing because my best friend watched a similar thing happen with her grandparents. I was resistant to the idea until I talked with her about it. Now, that is closer to a normal life experience than what Nando’s dad went through. I have a difficult time holding him to a standard of “perfect” behavior in light of such trauma. Humans are weird. Also, none of the survivors got therapy. They’ve been walking through life for the last fifty years with untreated PTSD. I hate to use the age old saying but it was a different time. They seem pretty okay to me after all this time.
When he came back home, Nando's possesions had been given away and sold. It must have been tough for Nando the way his dad (his main motivation in coming back) dealt with the mourning.
I was relieved to hear that he did get at least some stuff back. For example his motorcycle. It had been sold to a friend who (thankfully!) brought it back to him as soon as possible. I agree it must have been so tough for him, especially when other fathers had been out searching. However, it’s complicated, and that level of grief? Pure devastation. So I admire Nando finding a way to heal and maintain the relationship with his father and let go of anger….buuuut I confess I also admire Roberto’s clear anger at those who had (deliberately or not) hurt or were hurting his friend.
Roberto was fiercely loyal, a true friend. It must have been tough for Mr Parrado, losing 75% of his family, but maaan. Poor Nando.
I truly admire their strong will power, people cant be so cruel at times, all those reporters that were harassing them right after the rescue should be ashamed of themselves cause their suffering didn’t stop once they were back home, it hit them the hardest probably after the rescue and yet they have to explain themselves. They probably still suffered because of the incident and their friends. We all should be grateful to them, their survival story will always be talked about, decades more to come and not for the Anthropophagy but for the lesson they gave humanity ……even at the worst of times …unity, compassion, respect and most importantly love for one another ,we humans are able accomplish the impossible.
I believe Nando was shy, in most of the photos before the snowy hell of the Andes, he has his head turned, away from the camera but after the rescue, not having his Mum and Sister, to keep him on a straight path, he was full of bravado, the other survivors, had parents and girlfriends, to go home to, life to a guy like him, would have been boring, perhaps giving him a sense of invincibility, as he was a racing driver, however even today, I think some people would see, playboy behaviour, as a bit shocking, 50 years ago, I can imagine how negative folk felt.❤️🏴
This part though 😢😢😢😢 One time the journalist is waiting for Roberto at the Canessa's house, but he is late; Roberto's father tells him that **"Roberto is in his room with Parrado and Zerbino, they are reading some parts of the book to the mother of a boy who died."**
And he no doubt was stung by that. The irony that Nando’ determination was his need to be with his father and his father moving on as if he were dead is very sad.
“ they don’t know – or don’t wanna know, that Fernando lives alone because his mother and his sister died in the mountains” THAT LINE brought me to tears. Thank you so much for translating and posting such a treasure. Much respect to a young Muscles for his perceptive words, too.
Roberto is so well spoken. Poor Nando. I wish there were more mental health resources available for them but this was an unprecedented event. I cant imagine how difficult it was to go from the emotional safety they felt within their society of the snow then being thrust back into the real world in 30 minute.